about malala

On July 12th, 1997, Malala Yousafzai was born in Mingora, Pakistan. Living in a patriarchal society, she was an avid learner at the top of her class at the school her father managed. But soon, the Taliban invaded Malala’s beloved Swat Valley, destroying the peace there. The Taliban strongly believe that a woman’s place is the home and are against girls education. As they tortured and executed citizens of Pakistan, the Taliban also began to target girls schools, bombing them uncontrollably. Malala and her father both chose to speak out and try to make a difference-- Malala writing for BBC under the pen name Gul Makai, and her father making speeches. Soon, the Taliban made an announcement that all girls in Pakistan from then on would be forbidden from going to school. Malala and her father were outraged, and continued to speak out. On October 9th, 2012, an armed gunman boarded Malala’s school bus and shot her. The bullets also injured two other girls. Malala, in critical condition was taken to a Pakistani military hospital, but the situation was too dire. She was flown to a hospital in Birmingham, England, as she was in a coma. The bullet had hit Malala's head, severely injuring her skull, and the left side of her face, as well as her neck. But after intense medical treatment in England, Malala has not been stopped. She is not angry at the Taliban for shooting her... but she is enraged that girls all over the world are not in school. The Malala Fund has been building schools in places like Nigeria, Pakistan, Jordan and Kenya, in addition to supporting Syrian refugees.

In 2014, Malala became the youngest person to receive the Nobel Peace Prize at age 17. In 2017, she was accepted to Oxford University and will be attending there in the fall.